In this issue

All in a day’s work
Jamie Blackett is ready to man the barricades to scupper plans for an unwanted national park.

Brothers in art
John Goodall applauds the restoration of Leighton House in London, which formed the hub of a 19th-century celebrity circle..

Lighting the way

LAST week’s announcement by Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson that four historic gas lamps on Russell Street, WC2, have been granted listed status is seen as a good omen by lobby group The London Gasketeers.

2 mins

All in a day's work

Duck dating, snowdrop splitting, welcoming avian visitors and manning the barricades against an unwanted national park

3 mins

Brothers in art

IN October 2022, the museum and former home of the celebrated Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton reopened after an award-winning redevelopment.

8 mins

Blooming marvellous

From Duccio, who sneaked a vase of lilies into his depiction of the Annunciation, to Georgia O’Keeffe, who plunged viewers straight into the heart of her poppies, Michael Prodger explores how flowers have inspired artists across the centuries

7 mins

Man of the world

Sir John Lavery is best known as a Society portraitist, but he was also a plein-air painter of modern life who moved easily between continents, painting as he went. Mary Miers follows his peregrinations

6 mins

Follow your art

In a heist with a happy ending, a stolen Lavery oil made its way back to Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, where it now inspires headmaster John Browne,as Carla Passino discovers

2 mins

On a wig and a prayer

Like marmalade on toast, saying sorry and the Shipping Forecast, there are few things more typically British than the courtroom wig, says Agnes Stamp

3 mins

Where be dragons?

Lucien de Guise finds the answer in the original source of Hic sunt dracones ('Here be dragons'): a small copper globe of about 1510. The location is East Asia, where the dragon is still most active... as it is, of course, in Wales

5 mins

All in a life's work

Shropshire lads supreme and joined-up thinking in Oxfordshire

4 mins

Hedge of eternity

As old as husbandry hedges may be, but that doesn't mean they cannot be beautiful, too. Charles Quest-Ritson considers the many options,

5 mins

A seed of an idea

There is a lot more to successful wildflower propagation than scattering a packet and hoping for the best, discovers Tilly Ware, as she visits the UK’s biggest wild-seed producer

3 mins

A tower of thorns

Made with wind, sea and thorns on the wild west coast of Scotland, Blackthorn Salt brings surprising health benefits, as well as being a unique example of sustainable craftsmanship, says Ben Lerwill

3 mins

Love and marriage

Marital relations are the central theme in these three plays. A real-life couple put on bravura performances, but an Austen adaptation misses

4 mins

When West met East

The Arts flourished in the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century and their influence reached across space and time to Tudor and Victorian England

3 mins

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Country Life UK Magazine Description:

Country Life; architecture, gardens, countryside, property, the very best of British life Published by IPC Media. Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.